tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301712379976680355.post3627778492397305362..comments2024-01-10T01:50:47.469-06:00Comments on Teenage Writer: The Issue of OriginalityJakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07013859345463250479noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301712379976680355.post-81752637589860759072012-07-23T19:14:29.520-05:002012-07-23T19:14:29.520-05:00And I'm just coming here from a whole day of r...And I'm just coming here from a whole day of reading tvtropes . org.<br /><br />These posts too, about avoiding cliches and cliche lists are getting kind of, wait for it, cliched!<br /><br />But the good thing is, it does throw the old uncomfortable light in my writing.<br /><br />Also, I've had the rude surprise of coming up with a fancy name, only to find it on a map of Middle Earth.<br /><br />I agree, poems & short stories rule*. That's why I stick to them :)<br /><br />*ps I gave up novel writing because I realized I'm too lazy for it. I really admire you guys!wsgeorgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13761647162700299739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301712379976680355.post-49954504388848667412012-04-26T17:44:44.634-05:002012-04-26T17:44:44.634-05:00Haha. I'll insert my own shudder here. XP I...Haha. I'll insert my own shudder here. XP I've read one Amish romance book, and that's one too many. <br />I feel as though I'm pretty good at originality... and then I'll read a book and be like, "Darn! I thought of that first!" Such was a case of the 3rd novel in the Hunger Games trilogy. The name Cressida, I thought, was mine and mine alone. Oh, well. She published it and I didn't, so I guess she won.<br />But the truth is, no one ever wins in the originality prize. I'm sure even great writers like Tolkien and Lewis (or even Wendelin van Draanen and Rick Riordan) got their ideas from SOMEWHERE. Keep heart, Jake!<br />My story right now isn't too original... I think. I mean, it's so random, you wouldn't even be able to pick apart the pieces, but if you did, you'd find a lot of concepts that are invented by others and made fun of by me. (Like the Hungry Hungry Games.)Briannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13640512182947763517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301712379976680355.post-86078714691238131532012-04-25T09:18:50.790-05:002012-04-25T09:18:50.790-05:00Same here, Jake. MY latest book that i am writing,...Same here, Jake. MY latest book that i am writing, Savage, has many similar traits as Frank Peretti's Monster does. <br /><br />Just like his mine has a "monster" or in my case a "savage".<br /><br />I've even been thinking about this before you wrote this post. Now I am just trying to figure out what to do....<br /><br />Thanx for you input!Isaacpermannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02869061974655624213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301712379976680355.post-33960659964475393302012-04-25T09:11:12.940-05:002012-04-25T09:11:12.940-05:00Yeah, I've had problems with that too. I love ...Yeah, I've had problems with that too. I love this one author, and he just writes these fantastic, original books. And sometimes I find myself trying to copy it. Then I stop and think, and rewrite or rethink that certain situation, and put myself in that situation, and I usually think of something better than that first copied idea. But it's so hard not to even subconsciously copy of an idea from a book you've read, because it's so good!! :/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301712379976680355.post-45087691240432917042012-04-24T23:48:15.547-05:002012-04-24T23:48:15.547-05:00This is such a great article and it sums up someth...This is such a great article and it sums up something that I've been mulling over in my mind for weeks. In fact, I wrote a similar article on my own blog. :)Brian Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00069539442682466132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301712379976680355.post-53741953600601998592012-04-24T22:20:58.374-05:002012-04-24T22:20:58.374-05:00May I take the advice from this and put it in my o...May I take the advice from this and put it in my own blog post? (lol, copying, unoriginality...)<br />I think that another way to be original is to find your unique voice.Emilyn J Cloverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00892659942186331664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301712379976680355.post-35437375325445537672012-04-24T18:03:23.052-05:002012-04-24T18:03:23.052-05:00Yes, yes, and yes. I've done a lot of that. ...Yes, yes, and yes. I've done a lot of that. It's hard to work on something original, that is for sure.<br /><br />The interesting thing for me is that when I started writing, things like friendly dragons and mind speaking were completely original to me... I'm not saying they weren't done before, but when I started writing I had no idea that they'd been done before. I'd just barely started into the fantasy genre, and I thought I was doing something that no one else had ever tried.<br /><br />The truth of matter is that you can never be completely original. It just can't be done. It can't... unless you are God, and obviously none of us are. What you can do, however, is try to be yourself. I know that sounds cliche, but it's true. If you infuse yourself deeply into your writings, rather than try to write like someone else, your story will come out unique. Even if the premise is similar to something else, even if there are close similarities, even if, even if, even if... I think that's what made the inheritance cycle so alluring. Yes, it had quite a few similarities to star wars and Lord of the Rings, but the author was not trying to copy those stories outright... it was after the fact that people noticed the similarities and were upset about them. I'll bet that when Mr. Paolini wrote those books he wasn't thinking "Ha! I'm going to make the bad guy my MC's father just because they did it in star wars!" ;)<br /><br />I had someone email me the other day because they read an excerpt of my story and were worried because they had a Daystar in their book too. They wondered if it would be a copyright issue, and if I would be willing to change the name of the Daystar in SOTD... the truth of the matter, however, was that our "Daystars" were completely different and had nothing similar to each other other than a name.<br /><br />And on that note, some people read books with strong similarities BECAUSE of the similarities. :D<br /><br />So all in all, with this post getting extremely long because I like to ramble, I say just keep writing. If you are worried about the book of Shaldu and it's series being too close to someone else's book, finish writing it, and then go back. You might be really surprised by how wonderfully a good rewrite can change a book for the better. And I aught to know on that point. ;D <br /><br />Good Luck, Jake!!!<br /><br />NicholeStar-Dreamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14298850366884374226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301712379976680355.post-44854243677631662292012-04-24T16:49:37.566-05:002012-04-24T16:49:37.566-05:00This is so so so so true!!! :( And sad.... becau...This is so so so so true!!! :( And sad.... because there are so many plots from so many books I've read that I so so so so so so wanted to put in my books(Inkheart, Chronicles of Narnia etc.) because they are awesome. But I don't want to scrap my series because it is so good!<br />And it is so different too. We can't help but write things that we have read. Nothing is original(or so I've read on the web), except when we write what we know...<br />Some authors tell us to take something from books we read if we really love it.<br />I don't think there can be originality anymore because everything has already been written, or so someone said, in one way or another. It is like music. So many melodies but only so many notes. I don't think we should throw away our writings just because it isn't original.<br />Look for the ways that it is original, and you may be surprised.Emilyn J Cloverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00892659942186331664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301712379976680355.post-30379382947622350502012-04-24T14:28:40.397-05:002012-04-24T14:28:40.397-05:00Heh. That's what I was thinking about at 6:50 ...Heh. That's what I was thinking about at 6:50 this morning. "Should I drop my novel and start something else (again), or should I just cut the clichè plot and characters, or... wait. Is there a difference? Blast."<br /><br />Short stories and poems rule.Pathfinderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15558376068544297287noreply@blogger.com